If your wires are outside the bars, then yes, the dowel can be removed or cut off.
5 ohm caps?
just a thinking out loud as the 350F and 400F are somewhat similar.....
the goal of float height is to maintain a certain level of fuel in the bowl at all times. the clymer indicated 21mm for my 350F, but this level kept the fuel level too high in the bowls. The correct level for the 350F is 23-24mms, as confirmed by the clear tube method and HondaMan. This 23-24mm float height keeps the fuel at 4mm below the bowl gasket seam and all the jets in the correct amount of fuel at all times.
21mms made my 350F run rich. i dealt with fouled plugs and difficult starts for quite a while. I surmised that the increased depth of the main and pilot jets at 21mm float height allowed too much fuel through both. things changed for the better when i went to 24mm float height.
might this be the case with yours? I dont know. 400F and 350F have similar carb settings? maybe...
check your fuel level with the clear tube method with your floats set as they are now just to see bowl levels....4mm below the carb gasket seam is the goal